System and method for identifying a vehicle driver by a pattern of movement

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method and system for identifying a vehicle driver by a pattern of movement that includes receiving at least one sensor signal from at least one wearable device. The method and system additionally include determining the pattern of movement based on data extracted from the at least one sensor signal and determining if the pattern of movement is consistent with at least one driver movement pattern. The method and system further include identifying the vehicle driver based on the pattern of movement being consistent with the at least one driver movement pattern. The method and system also include controlling at least one vehicle system by executing vehicle settings associated with the identified vehicle driver.

BACKGROUND

Currently, vehicles may be driven by numerous individuals in addition toa vehicle owner. For example, a vehicle may be utilized by numerousdrivers within a household in addition to the vehicle owner. Eachindividual may modify a number of settings in the vehicle to be inaccordance with his or her preferences. In some cases, vehicle settingsmay be modified for each individual based on a set of input buttonslabeled with numbers (e.g., Input 1, Input 2, Input 3) that may be setto be programmed to memorize certain vehicle settings. Such memorizedvehicle settings may pertain to customized positioning of certainvehicle components such as seats, mirrors, steering wheel, etc. for anumber of individuals that correspond to the number of input buttons.Therefore, these input buttons may limit settings for a small number ofindividuals. Consequently, individuals additional to the number ofindividuals that have fully utilized the input buttons to memorize theirpreferred vehicle settings may not be able to save their preferredvehicle settings unless they overwrite one of the other individual'ssaved preferred vehicle settings corresponding to the input buttons.

Additionally, utilizing the set of input buttons to initiate theindividual's preferred settings may have some drawbacks with respect toan amount of time it may take for the settings to be executed prior tothe individual driving the vehicle. For example, in many casesindividuals may select their respective input button only afterapproaching or entering the vehicle for the vehicle settings to beadjusted based on the preferred vehicle settings. In many cases, therespective input buttons work if the vehicle is not fully enabled (e.g.,engine is not turned on) or if the vehicle is within a park transmissiongear. Therefore, in many cases the individuals have to wait for a periodof time for the vehicle settings to be adjusted based on their preferredvehicle settings before enabling and/or driving the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

According to one aspect, a computer-implemented method for identifying avehicle driver by a pattern of movement that includes receiving at leastone sensor signal from at least one wearable device. Thecomputer-implemented method additionally includes determining thepattern of movement based on data extracted from the at least one sensorsignal and determining if the pattern of movement is consistent with atleast one driver movement pattern. The at least one driver movementpattern includes a sequence of actions that are related to at least oneof: approaching the vehicle, opening a door of the vehicle, entering thevehicle, and utilizing the vehicle. The computer-implemented method alsoincludes identifying the vehicle driver based on the pattern of movementbeing consistent with the at least one driver movement pattern. Thecomputer-implemented method further includes controlling at least onevehicle system by executing vehicle settings associated with theidentified vehicle driver.

According to another aspect, a system for identifying a vehicle driverby a pattern of movement that includes a memory storing instructionswhen executed by a processor cause the processor to receive at least onesensor signal from at least one wearable device. The instructions alsocause the processor to determine the pattern of movement based on dataextracted from the at least one sensor signal and determine if thepattern of movement is consistent with at least one driver movementpattern. The at least one driver movement pattern includes a sequence ofactions that are related to at least one of: approaching the vehicle,opening a door of the vehicle, entering the vehicle, and utilizing thevehicle. The instructions additionally cause the processor to identifythe vehicle driver based on the pattern of movement being consistentwith the at least one driver movement pattern. The instructions furthercause the processor to control at least one vehicle system by executingvehicle settings associated with the identified vehicle driver.

According to still another aspect, a computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions that when executed by a computer, which includes atleast a processor, causes the computer to perform a method that includesreceiving at least one sensor signal from at least one wearable device.The instructions also include determining a pattern of movement based ondata extracted from the at least one sensor signal and determining ifthe pattern of movement is consistent with at least one driver movementpattern. The at least one driver movement pattern includes a sequence ofactions that are related to at least one of: approaching a vehicle,opening a door of the vehicle, entering the vehicle, and utilizing thevehicle. The instructions additionally include identifying the vehicledriver based on the pattern of movement being consistent with the atleast one driver movement pattern. The instructions further includecontrolling at least one vehicle system by executing vehicle settingsassociated with the identified vehicle driver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an operating environment for implementingsystems and methods for identifying a vehicle driver by a pattern ofmovement, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram of a method for identifying the vehicledriver by the pattern of movement as executed by a driver ID settingsapplication from the operating environment of FIG. 1 according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of a method for receiving physicalmovement sensor signals from at least one wearable device from theoperating environment of FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4A is a process flow diagram of a method for determining a patternof movement and determining if the pattern of movement is consistentwith at least one driver movement pattern from the operating environmentof FIG. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4B is an illustrative example of linking patterns of movement,according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram of a method for controlling at leastone vehicle system from the operating environment of FIG. 1 according toan exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein.The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components thatfall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation.The examples are not intended to be limiting.

A “bus”, as used herein, refers to an interconnected architecture thatis operably connected to other computer components inside a computer orbetween computers. The bus may transfer data between the computercomponents. The bus may be a memory bus, a memory controller, aperipheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch, and/or a local bus,among others. The bus may also be a vehicle bus that interconnectscomponents inside a vehicle using protocols such as Media OrientedSystems Transport (MOST), Controller Area network (CAN), LocalInterconnect Network (LIN), among others.

“Computer communication”, as used herein, refers to a communicationbetween two or more computing devices (e.g., computer, personal digitalassistant, cellular telephone, network device) and may be, for example,a network transfer, a file transfer, an applet transfer, an email, ahypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) transfer, and so on. A computercommunication may occur across, for example, a wireless system (e.g.,IEEE 802.11), an Ethernet system (e.g., IEEE 802.3), a token ring system(e.g., IEEE 802.5), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a point-to-point system, a circuit switching system, a packetswitching system, among others.

A “disk”, as used herein may be, for example, a magnetic disk drive, asolid state disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a tape drive, a Zip drive,a flash memory card, and/or a memory stick. Furthermore, the disk may bea CD-ROM (compact disk ROM), a CD recordable drive (CD-R drive), a CDrewritable drive (CD-RW drive), and/or a digital video ROM drive (DVDROM). The disk may store an operating system that controls or allocatesresources of a computing device.

A “database”, as used herein may refer to table, a set of tables, a setof data stores and/or methods for accessing and/or manipulating thosedata stores. Some databases may be incorporated with a disk as definedabove.

A “memory”, as used herein may include volatile memory and/ornon-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include, for example, ROM(read only memory), PROM (programmable read only memory), EPROM(erasable PROM), and EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM). Volatilememory may include, for example, RAM (random access memory), synchronousRAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double datarate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory maystore an operating system that controls or allocates resources of acomputing device.

A “module”, as used herein, includes, but is not limited to,non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions,instructions in execution on a machine, hardware, firmware, software inexecution on a machine, and/or combinations of each to perform afunction(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action fromanother module, method, and/or system. A module may also include logic,a software controlled microprocessor, a discrete logic circuit, ananalog circuit, a digital circuit, a programmed logic device, a memorydevice containing executing instructions, logic gates, a combination ofgates, and/or other circuit components. Multiple modules may be combinedinto one module and single modules may be distributed among multiplemodules.

An “operable connection”, or a connection by which entities are“operably connected”, is one in which signals, physical communications,and/or logical communications may be sent and/or received. An operableconnection may include a wireless interface, a physical interface, adata interface and/or an electrical interface.

A “processor”, as used herein, processes signals and performs generalcomputing and arithmetic functions. Signals processed by the processormay include digital signals, data signals, computer instructions,processor instructions, messages, a bit, a bit stream, or other meansthat may be received, transmitted and/or detected. Generally, theprocessor may be a variety of various processors including multiplesingle and multicore processors and co-processors and other multiplesingle and multicore processor and co-processor architectures. Theprocessor may include various modules to execute various functions.

A “portable device”, as used herein, is a computing device typicallyhaving a display screen with user input (e.g., touch, keyboard) and aprocessor for computing. Portable devices include, but are not limitedto, handheld devices, mobile devices, smart phones, laptops, tablets ande-readers. In some embodiments, a “portable device” could refer to aremote device that includes a processor for computing and/or acommunication interface for receiving and transmitting data remotely.

A “vehicle”, as used herein, refers to any moving vehicle that iscapable of carrying one or more human occupants and is powered by anyform of energy. The term “vehicle” includes, but is not limited to:cars, trucks, vans, minivans, SUVs, motorcycles, scooters, boats,go-karts, amusement ride cars, rail transport, personal watercraft, andaircraft. In some cases, a motor vehicle includes one or more engines.Further, the term “vehicle” may refer to an electric vehicle (EV) thatis capable of carrying one or more human occupants and is poweredentirely or partially by one or more electric motors powered by anelectric battery. The EV may include battery electric vehicles (BEV) andplug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). The term “vehicle” may alsorefer to an autonomous vehicle and/or self-driving vehicle powered byany form of energy. The autonomous vehicle may or may not carry one ormore human occupants. Further, the term “vehicle” may include vehiclesthat are automated or non-automated with pre-determined paths orfree-moving vehicles.

A “vehicle system”, as used herein may include, but is not limited to,any automatic or manual systems that may be used to enhance the vehicle,driving and/or safety. Exemplary vehicle systems include, but are notlimited to: a vehicle HVAC system, a vehicle infotainment system, avehicle engine control system, a vehicle GPS/navigation system, avehicle seat position settings system, vehicle steering/mirror positionsetting system, a vehicle driver customization settings system, avehicle transmission control system, vehicle safety control systems,vehicle stability control systems, an electronic stability controlsystem, an anti-lock brake system, a brake assist system, an automaticbrake prefill system, a low speed follow system, a cruise controlsystem, a collision warning system, a collision mitigation brakingsystem, an auto cruise control system, a lane departure warning system,a blind spot indicator system, a lane keep assist system, a brake pedalsystem, an electronic power steering system, a proximity sensor systems,and an electronic pretensioning system, among others.

A “vehicle sensors”, as used herein may include, but is not limited to,electric current/potential (e.g., proximity sensors, inductive,capacitive), ultrasonic (e.g., piezoelectric, electrostatic), vibration,optical, vision, photoelectric or oxygen sensors, among others.

A “wearable computing device”, as used herein may include, but is notlimited to, a computing device component (e.g., a processor) withcircuitry that may be worn by and/or in possession of a user. In otherwords, a wearable computing device is a computer that is subsumed intothe personal space of a user. Wearable computing devices may include adisplay and may include various sensors for sensing and determiningvarious parameters associated with a user. For example, location,motion, and biosignal (physiological) parameters, among others. Somewearable computing devices have user input and output functionality.Exemplary wearable computing devices may include, but are not limitedto, watches, glasses, clothing, gloves, hats, shirts, jewelry, rings,earrings necklaces, armbands, shoes, earbuds, headphones and personalwellness devices.

A “value” and “level”, as used herein may include, but is not limitedto, a numerical or other kind of value or level such as a percentage, anon-numerical value, a discrete state, a discrete value, a continuousvalue, among others. The term “value of X” or “level of X” as usedthroughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to anynumerical or other kind of value for distinguishing between two or morestates of X. For example, in some cases, the value or level of X may begiven as a percentage between 0% and 100%. In other cases, the value orlevel of X could be a value in the range between 1 and 10. In stillother cases, the value or level of X may not be a numerical value, butcould be associated with a given discrete state, such as “not X”,“slightly x”, “x”, “very x” and “extremely x”.

I. System Overview

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating one or more exemplary embodiments and not for purposes oflimiting the same, FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an operatingenvironment 100 for implementing systems and methods for identifying avehicle driver by a pattern of movement, according to an exemplaryembodiment. The components of the environment 100, as well as thecomponents of other systems, hardware architectures, and softwarearchitectures discussed herein, may be combined, omitted, or organizedinto different architectures for various embodiments.

Generally, the environment 100 includes a vehicle 102 that includes aplurality of components that execute a vehicle driver identification andsettings execution application (driver ID settings application) 104. Asdescribed in more detail below, the driver ID settings application 104may be executed on a head unit 106 of the vehicle 102, one or morewearable computing devices (wearable device) 108 that may communicatewith the vehicle 102, or one or more portable electronic devices(portable device) 110 that may communicate with the wearable device 108and/or the vehicle 102, or any combination of the foregoing. In someembodiments, the driver ID settings application 104 may be executed onan externally hosted computing infrastructure (not shown) that isaccessed by the head unit 106, the wearable device(s) 108 and/or theportable device(s) 110.

In one or more embodiments, the wearable device(s) 108 may include adevice that is physically associated to the individual(s) and may beconfigured to be worn to sense physical movement parameters andbiosignal biometric parameters pertaining to the individual(s). Thewearable device(s) 108 may include, but is not to be limited to, avirtual headset, a watch, a pair of glasses, a bracelet, an anklet, aring, a pedometer, an arm band, a holster, and headwear, among othertypes of wearables. One or more individuals, that may include thevehicle owner and/or approved drivers of the vehicle 102 (setup as suchby the vehicle owner utilizing the application 104, as discussed in moredetail below), may wear the respective wearable device(s) 108.

As discussed in more detail below, in one embodiment, the driver IDsettings application 104 may be executed to identify a potential vehicledriver (not shown) (hereinafter referred to as vehicle driver) from oneor more individuals wearing one or more wearable devices 108 based on apattern of movement of one or more of the individuals that is determinedbased on physical movement captured and physical movement sensor signalsrepresenting the physical movement parameters and/or biometric signalsrepresenting the biosignal biometric parameters to the biosignalbiometric parameters received from the wearable device(s) 108. In one ormore embodiments, the pattern of movement of the one or more individualsmay include a movement, a gesture, a sequence of actions, and/or asequence of gestures that are determined from data extracted fromsensors of the wearable device(s) 108 and converted into a data packageto identify the vehicle driver based on a comparison with one or morestored traditional patterns of movement of vehicle drivers (hereinafterreferred to as driver movement patterns).

In particular, the driver ID settings application 104 may determine ifthe pattern of movement of one or more of the individuals wearing thewearable device(s) 108 are consistent with at least one of the one ormore driver movement patterns. For example, the driver ID settingsapplication 104 may identify the vehicle driver based on an individual'spattern of movement which is consistent with driver movement patternsassociated with inputting a garage door open button (not shown), pullingof a vehicle door handle (not shown), opening of a vehicle door (notshown) and entering the vehicle 102. Upon identifying the vehicledriver, the driver ID settings application 104 may execute one or morepreprogrammed vehicle settings that are associated with the identifiedvehicle driver.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, the vehicle 102 may include anelectronic control unit (ECU) 112 with provisions for processing,communicating and interacting with various components of the vehicle 102and other components of the environment 100. In one embodiment, the ECU112 may be operably connected to the head unit 106, a storage unit 114,a communication unit 116, a plurality of vehicle systems 118, and/or aplurality of vehicle sensors 120. However, it is to be appreciated thatthe ECU 112 may be operably connected to numerous additional vehiclecomponents and devices not included within the exemplary environment 100illustrated in FIG. 1.

Generally, the ECU 112 may include a processor (not shown), a memory(not shown), a disk (not shown), and an input/output (I/O) interface(not shown), which are each operably connected for computercommunication via a bus (not shown). The I/O interface provides softwareand hardware to facilitate data input and output between the componentsof the ECU 112 and other components, networks, and data sources, of theenvironment 100. The ECU 112 may receive one or more command signalsfrom the driver ID settings application 104 to operably control one ormore of the plurality of vehicle systems 118 in accordance with avehicle settings profile (not shown) that is associated to an individualthat may include the vehicle owner or an approved driver of the vehicle102 that is identified as the vehicle driver.

In some cases the ECU 112 may receive one or more command signals fromthe driver ID settings application 104 to operably control one or moreof the plurality of vehicle systems 118 in accordance with a defaultvehicle settings profile that is utilized when an undisclosed driver isidentified as the vehicle driver. In other words, as discussed below,when the driver ID settings application 104 determines that theidentified vehicle driver is not the vehicle owner and/or one of the oneor more approved drivers of the vehicle 102, the application mayidentify the vehicle driver as the undisclosed driver and may apply thedefault vehicle settings profile to control one or more of the pluralityof vehicle systems 118 to provide default settings to the identifiedvehicle driver.

As discussed, the ECU 112 is also operably connected for computercommunication (e.g., via the bus and/or the I/O interface) to the headunit 106. The head unit 106 may be connected to one or more displaydevices (not shown) (e.g., display screens), audio devices (not shown),and haptic devices (not shown) (e.g., haptic steering wheel) that areutilized to provide a human machine interface (not shown). As discussedbelow, the one or more display devices may be operated to display one ormore user interfaces associated with the driver ID settings application104 that may be utilized by the vehicle owner to add profiles ofhimself/herself and of one or more approved drivers of the vehicle 102.Additionally, the user interface(s) may be utilized by the vehicle owneror the approved driver(s) of the vehicle 102 to create a respectivevehicle settings profile, link wearable device(s) 108 and portabledevices(s) 110 that are worn by/possessed by and associated with thevehicle owner or the approved driver(s) of the vehicle 102, and/orcreate a learned driver movement pattern to be utilized by the driver IDsettings application 104 to identify the vehicle driver as the vehicleowner or one of the one or more approved drivers of the vehicle 102.

In one embodiment, the head unit 106 may be operably connected to thestorage unit 114. In alternate embodiments, the storage unit 114 may beincluded as a component of the head unit 106. The storage unit 114 maystore one or more operating systems, associated operating system data,applications, associated application data, vehicle system and subsystemuser interface/application data, and the like that are executed by theECU 112 and/or the head unit 106 of the vehicle 102. As will bediscussed in more detail below, the storage unit 114 may be used by thedriver ID settings application 104 to store one or more vehicle settingsprofiles, a list of one or more wearable devices 108, a list of one ormore portable devices 110, and one or more types of driver movementpatterns.

In an exemplary embodiment, the ECU 112 and/or the head unit 106 mayalso be operably connected to the communication unit 116. Thecommunication unit 116 may communicate with one or more components ofthe operating environment 100 and/or additional systems and componentsoutside of the operating environment 100. The communication unit 116 mayinclude, but is not limited to, one or more transmitters (not shown),one or more antennas (not shown), and additional components (not shown)that may be utilized for wired and wireless computer connections andcommunications via various protocols, as discussed above. For example,the communication unit 116 may use a dedicated short range communicationprotocol (DSRC), a Bluetooth™ connection, a Wi-Fi connection, and thelike to detect the presence of wearable device(s) 108 and/or portabledevice(s) 110 within a connectable range (e.g., predetermined vicinityof 100 yards) of the vehicle 102.

As described below, the driver ID settings application 104 may utilizethe communication unit 116 to communicate with the wearable device(s)108 that is located within a predetermined area of the vehicle 102 thatmay include a connectable range of the vehicle 102 to obtain physicalmovement sensor signals that are utilized to identify the driver. Thedriver ID settings application 104 may send one or more command signalsto the communication unit 116 to formally connect (e.g., via Bluetooth™connection) with at least one wearable device 108 and/or one portabledevice 110 that is worn/possessed and associated by the identifiedvehicle driver. Additionally, the driver ID settings application 104 mayutilize the communication unit 116 to formally block connections betweenone or more wearable devices 108 and/or portable devices 110 that aredeemed not to be worn/possessed and associated with the identifiedvehicle driver.

As discussed, the ECU 112 may operably control the plurality of vehiclesystems 118 that may include the exemplary vehicle systems discussedabove (not individually shown) based on command signal(s) received fromthe driver ID settings application 104. In one or more embodiments, theECU 112 may also operably control the plurality of vehicle sensors 120that may include the exemplary vehicle sensors discussed above (notindividually shown) that are operable to sense a measurement of dataassociated with the driver of the vehicle 102, the vehicle 102, avehicle environment, the plurality of vehicle systems 118, and/or one ormore occupants of the vehicle 102, and the like.

In one embodiment, the plurality of vehicle sensors 120 may include oneor more cameras (not shown) that are positioned at various locationswithin and/or outside of the vehicle 102. The one or more cameras maycapture images within and/or outside of the vehicle 102 including imagesof a specific driver of the vehicle 102. Additionally, the plurality ofvehicle sensors 120 may include door handle sensors, seat sensors,steering wheel sensors, gear shifter sensors, external proximitysensors, and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the plurality ofvehicle sensors 120 may output one or more data signals indicating oneor more measurements of data to the ECU 112 and/or the head unit 106 tobe utilized by the driver ID settings application 104 to assist inidentifying the vehicle driver when the pattern of movement of more thanone individual wearing the wearable device(s) 108 are consistent withdriver movement patterns.

With reference to the wearable device(s) 108, in an exemplaryembodiment, the wearable device(s) 108 may include a processor 122 withcircuitry for processing and controlling components of the wearabledevice(s) 108. The wearable device(s) 108 may additionally include acommunication device 124 that may communicate with one or morecomponents of the operating environment 100 and/or additional systemsand components outside of the operating environment 100. Thecommunication device 124 of the wearable device(s) 108 may include, butis not limited to, one or more transceivers (not shown), one or morereceivers (not shown), one or more transmitters (not shown), one or moreantennas (not shown), and additional components (not shown) that may beused for wired and wireless computer connections and communications viavarious protocols, as discussed in detail above.

In one embodiment, the communication device 124 may transmit one or morepolling signals that may be in a DSRC, Bluetooth™, WI-FI, etc. form thatis directed to the communication unit 116 of the vehicle 102 to indicateto the vehicle 102 that the wearable device(s) 108 is located within theconnectable range. More specifically, the communication device 124 mayemit the polling signal(s) that may be received by the communicationunit 116 of the vehicle 102 that may indicate to the ECU 112, the headunit 106, and/or one or more applications including the driver IDsettings application 104 that the wearable device(s) 108 is locatedwithin the connectable range of the vehicle 102. As discussed below, thedriver ID settings application 104 may allow or disallow formalconnection(s) of the wearable device(s) 108 based on the identificationof the vehicle driver.

In an exemplary embodiment, the polling signal(s) may include a deviceidentification (device ID) of the respective wearable device(s) 108. Thedevice ID may be a unique identifier that is associated with therespective wearable device(s) 108 and may be communicated to the driverID settings application 104 to detect the respective wearable device(s)108. As discussed below, the driver ID settings application 104 mayevaluate the device ID to determine if the respective wearable device(s)108 is associated with the vehicle owner or the approved driver(s) ofthe vehicle 102. In one embodiment, the device ID may include a uniqueidentification code that is assigned by the driver ID settingsapplication 104 that identifies the individual(s) who is wearing therespective wearable device(s) 108. In another embodiment, the device IDmay include the serial number corresponding to the respective wearabledevice(s) 108.

In an exemplary embodiment, when the wearable device(s) 108 is worn, thewearable device(s) 108 may collect one or more physical movementparameters associated with the respective individual(s) wearing thewearable device(s) 108 based on data collected by physical signalsensors 126 of the wearable device(s) 108. The physical signal sensors126 may include, but are not limited to, an accelerometer, amagnetometer, a gyroscope, an ambient light sensor, a proximity sensor,a locational sensor (e.g., GPS), a positional sensor, a directionalsensor (e.g., compass), and the like. Additionally, the physical signalsensors 126 may include one or more cameras that may be accessed by theone or more applications executed and/or accessed on the wearabledevice(s) 108.

In an exemplary embodiment, the physical signal sensors 126 may providethe one or more physical movement sensor signals that are representativeof movement of the individual(s) wearing the respective wearabledevice(s) 108. In one or more embodiments, the physical movement sensorsignal(s) may be representative of one or more movements conducted thatmay constitute as actions when multiple movements are conducted orgestures provided by the individual(s) wearing the wearable device(s)108 as captured by the physical signal sensors 126 during a period oftime. For example, the physical movement sensor signal(s) may berepresentative of actions sensed of the individual's arm or gesturessensed of the individual's hand as the individual reaches his/her armtoward the door handle of the vehicle door and grips his/her hand topull the door handle. In another example, the physical signal sensors126 may capture walking movements and/or a gait of the individual ashe/she is walking and may provide the one or more physical movementsensor signals that represent such actions.

As discussed in more detail below, the driver ID settings application104 may receive the physical movement sensor signal(s) as communicatedby the physical signal sensors 126 to determine the pattern of movementassociated with the individual(s) wearing the respective wearabledevice(s) 108. In one embodiment, the driver ID settings application 104may receive and store the physical movement sensor signal(s) for arequisite period of time that is utilized determine a shorter or longerpattern of movement that is required to clearly identify the vehicledriver. In other words, the driver ID settings application 104 mayevaluate the physical movement sensor signals(s) for movement conductedby the individual(s) for a variable period of time that is required todetermine if the pattern of movement is consistent with one or moredriver movement patterns to identify the vehicle driver.

In one or more embodiments, the wearable device(s) 108 may additionallyinclude a storage unit 128 that may store one or more operating systems,applications, associated operating system data, application data, andthe like that are executed by the processor 122. For example, thestorage unit 128 may store application data files associated with thedriver ID settings application 104 that may be executed by the processor122. In an exemplary embodiment, the storage unit 128 may store thedevice ID that is associated with each of the one or more wearabledevices 108 that may be accessed by the communication device 124 toinclude the device ID within the polling signals transmitted to thevehicle 102.

In some embodiments, the storage unit 128 may be utilized by the driverID settings application 104 to store data extracted from the physicalmovement sensor signal(s) to be stored for a predetermined period oftime. In some instances, the driver ID settings application 104 mayutilize the stored extracted data based on the evaluation of thephysical movement sensor signals(s) for movements conducted for thevariable period of time, as discussed above.

As discussed below, the driver ID settings application 104 may accessthe storage unit 128 to retrieve data extracted from the physicalmovement sensor signal(s) from a prior point in time and link the dataextracted from those signals to data extracted from the physicalmovement sensor signal(s) at a real point in time (e.g., 10 secondslater than the prior point in time) to determine pattern of movement toidentify the vehicle driver for an elongated period of time. Forexample, the driver ID settings application 104 may access the storageunit 128 to retrieve data extracted from the physical movement sensorsignal(s) from a prior point in time when the individual inputted agarage door open input button to open the garage door of the garage inwhich the vehicle 102 is parked, and may link the extracted data toextracted data captured at a real point in time when the individualopens the vehicle door to develop an elongated pattern of movement thatis representative of the all of the aforementioned actions of theindividual.

In some embodiments, the wearable device(s) 108 may additionally includebiosignal sensors 130 that may be used to sense and determine one ormore biosignal biometric parameters associated with the individual(s)wearing the respective wearable device(s) 108. The biosignal sensors 130may sense physiological data and other data associated with the body andbiological system of the individual(s) wearing the respective wearabledevice(s) 108. In some embodiments, the biosignal sensors may sendbiometric signals that include data that may be extracted by the driverID settings application 104 that pertains to behavioral information ofthe individual(s) wearing the wearable device(s) 130. Such behavioralinformation may include but is not limited to head movements, bodymovements, hand postures, hand placement, body posture, individualgestures, a gait of the individual, among others.

In one or more embodiments, the biometric signals provided by thebiosignal sensors 130 may be utilized by one or more driver ID settingsapplication 104 to extract data that may be utilized in determining thedriver movement pattern of the individual(s) wearing the wearabledevice(s) 108. More specifically, the movement pattern associated withthe individual(s) may be determined based on the evaluation of thebiometric signals for a requisite period of time. In additionalembodiments, data extracted from the physical movement sensor signalsand data extracted from the biometric signals may be processed to befused into combined movement data that is used to determine the movementpattern associated with the individual(s).

In additional embodiments, the wearable device(s) 108 may include an HMIinput/output unit 132 that may be capable of providing one or more HMIoutputs to the individual(s) wearing the wearable device(s) 108. The HMIinput/output unit 132 may include, but is not limited to, one or morevisual devices (e.g., display screens), one or more audio devices (e.g.,speakers), and/or one or more haptic devices (e.g., tactile electronicdisplays). The driver ID settings application 104 may utilize the HMIoutput unit 132 to communicate with the individual(s) wearing thewearable device(s) 108. For example, if the individual wearing thewearable device 108 is identified as the vehicle driver, the driver IDsettings application 104 may utilize the visual device(s) of the HMIinput/output unit 132 to output a welcome message to welcome theindividual as the identified vehicle driver. In another example, thedriver ID settings application 104 may utilize the visual device(s) ofthe HMI input/output unit 132 to output a connection establishmentmessage to confirm the establishment of the formal connection betweenthe wearable computing device 108 and the vehicle 102.

In one embodiment, the driver ID settings application 104 may operatethe visual device(s) of the HMI input/output unit 132 to display one ormore user interfaces that may be utilized by the vehicle owner to addprofiles of himself/herself and one or more approved drivers of thevehicle 102. Additionally, the user interface(s) may be used by thevehicle owner or the approved driver(s) of the vehicle 102 to create arespective vehicle settings profile, link wearable device(s) 108 thatare worn by the vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) of thevehicle 102, and/or create a learned driver movement pattern to beutilized by the driver ID settings application 104 to identify thevehicle driver, as described in more detail below.

In one or more embodiments, the individual(s) may additionally possessthe portable device(s) 110. The portable device(s) 110 may includevarious types of handheld mobile communication devices that include, butare not limited to, a mobile device, a smart phone, a smart key fob, atablet, an e-reader, a personal digital assistant, a video game player,a mobile navigation device, and the like. The portable device(s) 110 mayinclude a processor 134 that may process and compute functionsassociated with the components of the portable device(s) 110. Theportable device(s) 110 may additionally include a communication device136 that may communicate with one or more components of the operatingenvironment 100 and/or additional systems and components outside of theoperating environment 100. For example, the communication device 136 mayutilize a DSRC, Bluetooth™ connection, or Wi-Fi connection tocommunicate with the communication device 124 of the wearable device(s)108 and/or the communication unit 116 of the vehicle 102.

In one or more embodiments, the portable device(s) 130 may additionallyinclude location sensors 138. The location sensors 138 may includeglobal positioning sensors (not shown) that may be used to provide aglobal location of the portable device(s) 110. As discussed below, thedriver ID settings application 104 may determine locational informationwith respect to the portable device(s) 110 in certain situations whenthe pattern of movement of more than one individual wearing the wearabledevice(s) 108 are consistent with driver movement patterns.

The portable device(s) 110 may also include a storage unit 140 that maystore one or more operating systems, applications, associated operatingsystem data, application data, and the like that are executed by theprocessor 134. For example, the storage unit 140 may store applicationdata files associated with the driver ID settings application 104 thatmay be executed by the processor 134.

In an exemplary embodiment, the storage unit 140 may store a deviceidentification (device ID) that is associated with each of the one ormore portable devices 110 and that is accessed and communicated by thecommunication device 136 of the portable device(s) 110 to thecommunication unit 116 of the vehicle 102 and/or the communicationdevice 124 of the wearable device(s) 108. The device ID may be a uniqueidentifier that may be communicated to the driver ID settingsapplication 104 to determine the portable device(s) 110 that isassociated with the respective individual(s) to formally connect theportable device 110 possessed by the identified vehicle driver to thevehicle 102. In one embodiment, the device ID may include a uniqueidentification code that is assigned by the driver ID settingsapplication 104 that identifies the individual(s) who is possessing therespective portable device(s) 136. In another embodiment, the device IDmay include the serial number corresponding to the respective portabledevice(s) 136.

In one embodiment, the portable device(s) 110 may additionally include adisplay device (not shown) that may be utilized by the driver IDsettings application 104 to display one or more user interfaces that maybe utilized by the vehicle owner to add profiles of himself/herself andone or more approved drivers of the vehicle 102. Additionally, the userinterface(s) may be utilized by the vehicle owner or the approveddriver(s) of the vehicle 102 to create a respective vehicle settingsprofile, link wearable device(s) 108 and portable devices(s) 110 thatare worn by/possessed by the vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s)of the vehicle 102, and/or create the learned driver movement pattern tobe utilized by the driver ID settings application 104 to identify thevehicle driver.

As described below, in one embodiment, the driver ID settingsapplication 104 may initiate a formal connection between the portabledevice 110 that is possessed by the identified vehicle driver based onthe identification of the vehicle driver based on a preprogrammedlinking of the wearable device 108 worn by the identified vehicle driverand the portable device 110 possessed by the identified vehicle driver.The driver ID settings application 104 may update a list of establishedformal connections stored within one or more of the storage units 114,128, 140 with the device ID of the wearable device 108 worn by theidentified vehicle driver and the device ID of the portable device 110possessed by the identified vehicle driver which is linked to thewearable device 108 that provided data from which the vehicle driver wasidentified.

II. The Driver ID Settings Application and Related Methods

The components of the driver ID settings application 104 will now bedescribed according to an exemplary embodiment and with reference toFIG. 1. In an exemplary embodiment, the driver ID settings application104 may be stored on one or more of the storage units 114, 128, 140 andexecuted by one or more of the ECU 112, the head unit 106 and/or theprocessors 122, 134. In an additional embodiment, the driver ID settingsapplication 104 may be stored on the externally hosted computinginfrastructure and accessed by the communication unit 116 and/or thecommunication devices 124, 136 and executed by one or more of the ECU112, the head unit 106 and/or the processors 122, 134.

A general process of the execution phase of the driver ID settingsapplication 104 will now be discussed, and will be further discussed inmore detail with respect to methods discussed below. During theexecution phase of the application 104, the driver ID settingsapplication 104 may operate the communication unit 116 to detect thewearable device(s) 108 that are located within the connectable range ofthe vehicle 102 based on polling signals received from the wearabledevice(s) 108.

Upon determining the wearable device(s) 108 that are located within theconnectable range of the vehicle 102, the application 104 may populate alist of the wearable device(s) 130 based on the device ID receivedwithin the polling signals as available devices. The driver ID settingsapplication 104 may additionally receive the physical movement sensorsignals provided by the wearable device(s) 108 worn by one or moreindividuals within the connectable range of the vehicle 102. Uponreceiving the physical movement sensor signals, the application 104 mayprocess the signals and determine one or more patterns of movementassociated with the one or more individuals.

Upon determining the one or more patterns of movement associated withthe one or more individuals, the driver ID settings application 104 mayevaluate and compare the one or more patterns of movement associatedwith the one or more individuals against the one or more driver movementpatterns that may include the default driver movement patterns or thelearned driver movement patterns. If the driver ID settings application104 determines that the pattern of movement of one of the one or moreindividuals wearing the respective wearable device(s) 108 is consistentwith one of the one or more driver movement patterns, the application104 may identify that individual as the vehicle driver.

Additionally, the driver ID settings application 104 may determine ifthat individual is classified as the vehicle owner or one of the one ormore approved drivers of the vehicle 102 and may execute a respectivevehicle settings profile associated with the individual to respectivelycontrol one or more of the plurality of vehicle systems 118. Asdiscussed below, in some embodiments, if the driver ID settingsapplication 104 determines that the patterns of movement of more thanone individual wearing the respective wearable devices 130 is consistentwith one of the one or more driver movement patterns the application 104may utilize additional techniques to identify one of the individuals asthe vehicle driver.

A setup/learning phase of the driver ID settings application 104 willnow be discussed in detail. Generally, the setup/learning phase may beconducted with respect to the vehicle owner during an initial executionof the driver ID settings application 104 and/or with respect to theapproved driver(s) at instances when the vehicle owner and/or theapproved driver(s) would like to update the driver ID settingsapplication 104. In an exemplary embodiment, upon the initial executionof the driver ID settings application 104, the setup/learning phase ofthe application 104 is initiated to setup and customize the application104 for the vehicle 102, formally establish the vehicle owner, and oneor more approved drivers of the vehicle 102. Additionally, thesetup/learning phase allows the vehicle owner and/or the one or moreapproved drivers to link one or more wearable devices 108 to theapplication, link one or more portable devices 136 to the one or morewearable devices 108, and create the one or more learned driver movementpatterns, among other functions.

In one embodiment, during the initial execution of the driver IDsettings application 104, the vehicle owner may be presented with asetup user interface via the display device of the head unit 106, thedisplay device of the portable device(s) 110 and/or the visual device(s)of the HMI input/output unit 132 of the wearable device(s) 108. Thesetup user interface allows the vehicle owner to establishhimself/herself as such by creating and updating a vehicle ownershipprofile. The vehicle ownership profile may be populated with identifyinginformation pertaining to the vehicle owner such as a username andpassword authentication that may be created for the vehicle owner tomanually identify the vehicle owner with respect to the driver IDsettings application 104. Additionally, the vehicle ownership profilemay be populated with the vehicle owner's name, address, phone number,etc.

In some embodiments, the vehicle ownership profile may be populated withan image of the vehicle owner captured by camera(s) of the plurality ofvehicle sensors 120. The vehicle ownership profile may be furtherpopulated with the device ID(s) of the wearable device(s) 108 that areworn by the vehicle owner. The setup user interface may also allow thevehicle owner to link the portable device(s) 110 possessed by thevehicle owner to the wearable device(s) 108 worn by the vehicle owner bypopulating the device ID(s) of the portable device(s) 110 within thevehicle ownership profile.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon completing setup of the vehicleownership profile, the setup user interface may allow the vehicle ownerto create/update a vehicle settings profile associated with the vehicleowner and link the vehicle settings profile to the vehicle ownerprofile. The setup user interface may allow the user to input settingswith respect to one or more programmable features of one or more of theplurality of vehicle systems 118 and store those settings within thevehicle settings profile associated with the vehicle owner. For example,the vehicle owner may establish settings that include audio systemoptions, navigation system options, seat positioning options, mirrorpositioning options, lighting options, door lock options, audio alerts,visual alerts, steering wheel height settings, pedal height settings,mirror placement settings, and the like. In some configurations, thevehicle owner may input a save input button to save the preferredsettings within the vehicle settings profile associated with the vehicleowner.

In one or more embodiments, upon setup of the vehicle ownership profileand the vehicle settings profile associated with the vehicle owner, thedriver ID settings application may store the respective profiles on oneor more of the storage units 114, 128, 140 to be utilized by the driverID settings application 104 if the vehicle owner is identified as thevehicle driver. For instance, as discussed below, during the executionphase of the application 104, if the vehicle owner is identified as thevehicle driver, the driver ID settings application 104 may access thevehicle settings profile associated with the vehicle owner and may sendone or more command signals to the ECU 112 to respectively control oneor more of the plurality of vehicle systems 118 to execute the vehicleowner's preferred settings as indicated within the vehicle settingsprofile associated with the vehicle owner.

In one or more embodiments, the vehicle owner may utilize the setup userinterface to add one or more approved drivers of the vehicle 102 bycreating one or more respective approved driver profiles. In someembodiments, the one or more approved drivers of the vehicle 102 mayutilize the setup user interface to add additionally approved driver(s)of the vehicle 102 by creating respective approved driver profile(s).Upon creating the approved driver profile(s), the vehicle owner and/orthe approved driver(s) may populate the approved driver profile(s) withidentifying information pertaining to the approved driver(s) such as ausername and password authentication that may be created for theapproved driver(s) to manually identify each respective approved driverwith respect to the driver ID settings application 104. Additionally,the approved driver profile(s) may be populated with the approveddriver(s) name, address, phone number, etc.

In some embodiments, the approved driver profile(s) may be populatedwith an image(s) of the respective approved driver(s) of the vehicle 102captured by camera(s) of the plurality of vehicle sensors 120. Theapproved driver profile(s) may be further populated with the deviceID(s) of the respective wearable device(s) 108 that are worn by theapproved driver(s). The setup user interface may also allow the vehicleowner and/or the approved driver(s) to link the portable device(s) 110possessed by the approved driver(s) to the wearable device(s) 108 wornby the approved driver(s) by populating the device ID(s) of the portabledevice(s) 110 within the approved driver profile(s).

In an exemplary embodiment, upon completing setup of the approved driverprofile(s), the setup user interface may allow the vehicle owner and/orthe approved driver(s) to create/update a vehicle settings profile(s)associated with the approved driver(s) and link the vehicle settingsprofile(s) to the approved driver profile(s). The setup user interfacemay allow the user to input settings with respect to one or moreprogrammable features of the plurality of vehicle systems 118 and storethose settings within the vehicle settings profile associated with theapproved driver(s).

In one or more embodiments, upon setup of the approved driver profile(s)and the vehicle settings profile(s) associated with the approveddriver(s), the driver ID settings application 104 may store therespective profiles on one or more of the storage units 114, 128, 140 tobe utilized by the application 104. For instance, as discussed below,during the execution phase of the application 104, if one of the one ormore approved drivers is identified as the vehicle driver, the driver IDsettings application 104 may access the vehicle settings profileassociated with the approved driver. The driver ID settings application104 may send one or more command signals to the ECU 112 to providerespective commands to the plurality of vehicle systems 118 to executethe approved driver's preferred settings as indicated within the vehiclesettings profile associated with the approved driver.

During the execution phase of the driver ID settings application 104,one or more patterns of movement associated with one or more individualswearing the wearable device(s) 130 may be compared to one or more drivermovement patterns that may include the default driver movement patternsand/or the learned driver movement patterns. In an exemplary embodiment,the default driver movement patterns may be preprogrammed patterns(e.g., by a vehicle manufacturer) that are stored within one or more ofthe storage units 114, 128, 140 to be evaluated by the driver IDsettings application 104.

The default driver movement patterns may include data that representsone or more movements that may be traditionally performed by the driverof the vehicle 102 prior to driving the vehicle 102. In many cases, thedefault driver movement patterns are consistent with one or moremovements that pertain to the vehicle 102 that may include, but are notlimited to, the driver's arm movements extending toward the vehicledoor, the driver's finger movements that are consistent with inputting agarage door open button or a door unlock button on a key fob associatedwith the vehicle 102, the driver's walking movements that may beconducted after the input of the garage door open button, the driver'shand movements that are consistent with the driver clutching/pulling thedoor handle of the vehicle door, the driver's movements that areconsistent with entering or being seated within the vehicle 102, and thelike.

In one or more embodiments, during the setup/learning phase of thedriver ID settings application 104, the designated vehicle owner and/orthe approved driver(s) of the vehicle 102 may initiate a learning modeof the application 104 to program one or more associated learned drivermovement patterns. The one or more learned driver movement patterns maybe specifically programmed by the vehicle owner and/or the approveddriver(s) to store patterns of movement that may be respectivelyutilized by the vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) prior todriving the vehicle 102. In other words, the vehicle owner and/or theapproved driver(s) may want to store patterns of movement that mayinclude specific actions and/or gestures that are individuallyconducted/provided prior to driving the vehicle 102 that may used by theapplication 104 to specifically identify the respective vehicle ownerand/or the approved driver(s) as the vehicle driver.

In an exemplary embodiment, the vehicle owner and/or the approveddriver(s) may initiate the learning mode by inputting a respectivelearning mode initiation user input button on the settings userinterface. During the learning mode, the driver ID settings application104 may communicate with the respective wearable device(s) 108 worn bythe vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) who inputted the inputbutton to receive one or more physical movement sensor signals as thevehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) conducts actions/performsgestures that are preferred to be utilized as the learned drivermovement pattern.

Upon receiving the physical movement sensor signals from the respectivewearable device(s) 108, the driver ID settings application 104 mayprocess the signals and determine the one or more patterns of movementof the respective vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s). Upondetermining the one or more patterns of movement, the application 104may convert the one or more patterns of movement into the learned drivermovement pattern and may associate the learned driver movement patternwith the respective vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) throughtheir respective vehicle ownership profile and/or approved driverprofile(s).

In an illustrative example, the vehicle owner may initiate the learningmode to capture one or more types of movements and gestures such as thegait of the vehicle owner walking toward the vehicle 102 and/or a handwaving gesture to be stored as the learned driver movement pattern thatis specifically associated to the vehicle owner. Therefore, during theexecution phase of the driver ID settings application 104, theapplication 104 may be able to identify the vehicle owner as the vehicledriver when the pattern of movement associated with the vehicle ownermatches the learned driver movement pattern. In other words, theapplication 104 may identify the vehicle owner as the vehicle driverover one or more additional individuals wearing respective wearabledevice(s) 108 within the connectable range of the vehicle 102 based onactions and/or gestures conducted/provided by the vehicle owner that areconsistent with the actions/gestures stored as the learned drivermovement pattern associated with the vehicle owner.

The execution phase of the driver ID settings application 104 will nowbe described in more detail. During the execution phase, the application104 may utilize associated modules that include a device detectionmodule 142, a movement pattern determinant module 144, a driveridentification module 146, and a vehicle settings execution module 148.Methods related to one or more processes that are executed by themodules 142-148 of the driver ID settings application 104 will also bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 2-5.

FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram of a method 200 for identifying thevehicle driver by the pattern of movement as executed by the driver IDsettings application 104 from the operating environment of FIG. 1according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 2 will be described withreference to the components of FIG. 1, though it is to be appreciatedthat the method 200 of FIG. 2 may be used with other systems/components.At block 202, the method 200 includes receiving physical movement sensorsignals from at least one wearable device 108.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a process flow diagram of a method 300 forreceiving physical movement sensor signals from at least one wearabledevice 108 from the operating environment of FIG. 1 according to anembodiment will now be discussed. FIG. 3 will be described withreference to the components of FIG. 1, though it is to be appreciatedthat the method 300 of FIG. 3 may be used with other systems/components.

At block 302, the method 300 may include detecting one or more wearabledevices 108 being worn by one or more respective individuals within aconnectable range of the vehicle 102. As described above, thecommunication device 124 of the wearable device(s) 108 may transmit oneor more polling signals that may include the device ID of the wearabledevice(s) 108 and that are directed to the communication unit 116 of thevehicle 102 to indicate that the wearable device(s) 108 is locatedwithin the connectable range.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon receipt of the polling signal(s)transmitted by the communication device 124 of the wearable device(s)108, the communication unit 116 may send a corresponding signal(s) tothe device detection module 142 of the driver ID settings application104. The device detection module 142 may detect the one or more wearabledevices 108 being worn by the one or more respective individuals locatedwithin the predetermined distance of the vehicle 102 based on thereceipt of the corresponding signal(s).

At block 304, the method 300 may include updating the device IDs of theone or more detected wearable devices 108. In one embodiment, upondetecting the wearable device(s) 108, the device detection module 142may store a list of the device ID(s) of the detected wearable device(s)108 on one or more of the storage units 114, 128, 140.

At block 306, the method 300 may include receiving one or more physicalmovement signals from the one or more detected wearable devices 108. Inan exemplary embodiment, the physical signal sensors 126 of the detectedwearable device(s) 108 may provide one or more physical movement sensorsignals to the device detection module 142. As discussed above, the oneor more physical movement sensor signals may be representative of one ormore movements or gestures conducted/provided by the individual(s)wearing the wearable device(s) 108 as captured by the physical signalsensors 126 during a period of time. For example, the physical movementsensor signals(s) may be representative of actions sensed of theindividual's arm as the individual reaches his/her arm toward the doorhandle of the vehicle door.

In an additional embodiment, the biosignal sensors 130 of the detectedwearable device(s) 108 may provide one or more biometric signals to thedevice detection module 142. As discussed above, the one or morebiometric signals may be representative of behavioral information of theindividual(s) wearing the wearable device(s) 130 that may include bodymovements, hand postures, hand placement, body posture, individualgestures, the gait of the individual, head movements, and the like, ascaptured by the biosignal sensors 130 during a period of time.

At block 308, the method 300 includes extracting data from the one ormore physical movement sensor signals. In one or more embodiments, uponreceiving the physical movement sensor signal(s) from the physicalsignal sensors 126, the device detection module 142 may process thereceived physical movement sensor signal(s) and extract movement datathat is associated with movement of the individual(s) wearing thewearable device(s) 108.

In an additional embodiment, upon receiving the one or more biometricsignals from the biosignal sensors 130, the device detection module 142may process the received biometric signal(s) and extract movement datathat is associated with the movement of the individual(s) wearing thewearable device(s) 108. In some embodiments, if the device detectionmodule 142 extracts data from physical movement sensor signal(s) andbiometric signal(s), the device detection module 142 may further processa fusion of the extracted data from both sources into combined movementdata that may be further utilized by the driver ID settings application104, as discussed below.

At block 310, the method 300 includes storing the extracted data. In oneembodiment, upon extracting the data corresponding to the physicalmovement sensor signals, the biometric signals, and/or processing thecombined movement data, the device detection module 142 may access oneor more of the storage units 114, 128, 140 and may store the data for apredetermined period of time. In some embodiments, the predeterminedperiod of time may be a period of time between a latest occasion whenthe engine of the vehicle 102 was previously disabled until an occasionwhen the engine of the vehicle 102 is enabled. In additionalembodiments, the predetermined period of time maybe a period of timebetween a latest occasion when the engine of the vehicle 102 waspreviously disabled until the occasion when the driver ID settingsapplication 104 identifies the vehicle driver. As will be discussedbelow, the stored data may be accessed and evaluated to determine thepattern of movement for a requisite period of time (e.g., a period oftime corresponding to a sufficient sequence of actions of theindividual(s)) that is required to identify the vehicle driver.

At block 312, the method 300 includes communicating the extracted datato the movement pattern determinant module 144. In one or moreembodiments, upon extracting and storing the data received from thephysical movement sensor signals, the biometric signals, and/orprocessing the combined movement data, the device detection module 142may send the aforementioned data to the movement pattern determinantmodule 144 in the form of one or more data signals to be furtherevaluated by the module 144.

Referring again to FIG. 2, upon receiving the physical movement sensorsignals from the at least one wearable device 108 (at block 202), themethod 200 may proceed to block 204. At block 204, the method 200includes determining a pattern of movement based on data extracted fromthe physical movement sensor signals. Referring now to FIG. 4A, aprocess flow diagram of a method 400 for determining a pattern ofmovement and determining if the pattern of movement is consistent withat least one driver movement pattern from the operating environment ofFIG. 1 according to an embodiment will now be discussed. FIG. 4A will bedescribed with reference to the components of FIG. 1, though it is to beappreciated that the method 400 of FIG. 4A may be used with othersystems/components.

At block 402, the method 400 includes processing the extracted data intoa pattern of movement associated with each of the one or moreindividuals wearing the detected wearable device(s) 108. In an exemplaryembodiment, upon receiving the one or more data signals from the devicedetection module 142 (as described with respect to block 312 above), themovement pattern determinant module 144 may process the data into thepattern of movement. As described above, the pattern of movementassociated with the one or more individuals may include a movement, agesture, a sequence of actions, and/or a sequence of gestures that isdetermined from the extracted data and/or the combined movement data andconverted into the data package by the movement pattern determinantmodule 144. In other words, the movement pattern determinant module 144may process the extracted data and/or the combined movement data andconvert the data into the data package that is indicative of the patternof movement of each of the one or more individuals wearing the detectedwearable device(s) 108.

At block 404, the method 400 includes communicating the pattern ofmovement associated with each of the one or more individuals wearing thedetected wearable devices 108 to the driver identification module 146.In one or more embodiments, upon processing the extracted data from thephysical movement sensor signals, the biometric signals, and/or thecombined movement data and converting the data into the data packagethat includes the pattern of movement that is associated with each ofthe one or more individuals, the movement pattern determinant module 144may send the data package to the driver identification module 146 in theform of one or more data signals to be further evaluated by the module146.

Referring again to FIG. 2, upon determining the pattern of movementbased on data extracted from the physical movement sensor signals (atblock 204), at block 206, the method 200 includes determining if thepattern of movement is consistent with at least one driver movementpattern. Referring again to the method 400 of FIG. 4A, at block 406, themethod 400 includes comparing the pattern of movement associated witheach of the one or more individuals wearing the detected wearabledevices 108 with one or more driver movement patterns. In an exemplaryembodiment, upon receiving the one or more data signals that areindicative of the pattern of movement of each of the one or moreindividuals wearing the detected wearable device(s) 108, the movementpattern determinant module 144 may evaluate the pattern(s) of movementand compare the pattern(s) of movement to the driver movement patterns.

More specifically, the driver identification module 146 may access oneor more of the storage units 114, 128, 140 to retrieve the defaultdriver movement pattern(s) that include data that represents one or moremovements that may be traditionally performed by the driver of thevehicle 102 prior to driving the vehicle 102 and that may pertain to thevehicle 102 (e.g., actions and/or gestures performed by an individualthat are related to opening/entering/utilizing the vehicle 102).Additionally, the driver identification module 146 may retrieve thelearned driver movement pattern(s) that may have been specificallyprogrammed by the vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) to storepatterns of movement that may be respectively utilized by the vehicleowner and/or the approved driver(s) prior to driving the vehicle 102.

In one embodiment, the driver identification module 146 may evaluate oneor more movement (data) points associated with the pattern(s) ofmovement of the individual(s) wearing the detected wearable device(s)108 that are extracted from the data package that are indicative of thepattern of movement by the driver identification module 146. Uponextracting the one or more movement points the driver identificationmodule 146 may compare the movement points associated with thepattern(s) of movement of the individual(s) to movement pointsprogrammed within and extracted from the default driver movementpattern(s) and learned driver movement pattern(s).

At block 408, the method 400 includes determining if at least onevehicle driver is identified. In one or more embodiments, upon comparingthe movement points associated with the pattern(s) of movement of theindividual(s) wearing the detected wearable device(s) 108 with themovement points programmed within the default driver movement pattern(s)and learned driver movement pattern(s), the driver identification module146 may determine if there is a match between the movement points. Insome embodiments, the driver identification module 146 may determinethat there is a match between the movement points if the movement pointsare found to be similar within a certain error threshold. In anexemplary embodiment, if the driver identification module 146 determinesthat there is a match between the movement points, the driveridentification module 146 determines that at least one vehicle driver isidentified. Otherwise, if the driver identification does not determinethat there is a match between the movement points, the driveridentification module 146 determines that at least one vehicle driver isnot identified.

If it is determined that at least one vehicle driver is not identified(at block 408), the method 400 may proceed to block 410 wherein themethod 400 includes retrieving stored extracted data from one or more ofthe storage units 114, 128, 140. As described above with respect toblock 310, upon extracting the data received from the physical movementsensor signals, the biometric signals, and/or processing the combinedmovement data, the device detection module 142 may access one or more ofthe storage units 114, 128, 140 and may store the data for apredetermined period of time.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon determining that at least one vehicledriver is not identified based on the pattern of movement associatedwith each of the one or more individuals wearing the detected wearabledevice(s) 108, the driver identification module 146 may access thestorage units 114, 128, 140 to retrieve the stored extracted data thatis representative of the physical movement sensor signals, biometricsignals, and/or the combined movement data of each of the one or moreindividuals wearing the detected wearable device(s) 108. In other words,the driver identification module 146 may retrieve the extracted dataregarding the movement of the individual(s) that was captured during aprior point in time (e.g., within a timeframe of 25 seconds) to befurther processed.

At block 412, the method includes processing the retrieved extractedstored data into a pattern of movement associated with each of the oneor more individuals wearing the detected wearable device(s) 108. In oneembodiment, upon retrieving the extracted data from one or more of thestorage units 114, 128, 140, the driver identification module 146 maysend the retrieved extracted stored data to the movement patterndeterminant module 144 in the form of one or more data signals to befurther evaluated by the module 144.

Upon receiving the one or more data signals, the movement patterndeterminant module 144 may process the extracted stored data into apattern of movement associated with each of the one or more individualswearing the wearable device(s) 108 In other words, the movement patterndeterminant module 144 may process the pattern of movement of each ofthe individual(s) which is representative of the actions and/or gesturesconducted/performed by each of the individual(s) during the prior pointin time (e.g., within a timeframe of 15 seconds) when the movement ofthe individual(s) was captured. In one or more embodiments, the movementpattern determinant module 144 may process the extracted stored data andconvert the extracted stored data into a data package that is indicativeof the pattern of movement of each of the one or more individualswearing the detected wearable device(s) 108 during the prior point intime.

At block 414, the method 400 includes linking the pattern of movementprocessed from the extracted stored data with the pattern of movementprocessed from real time data associated with each of the one or moreindividuals wearing the detected wearable device(s). In one embodiment,the movement pattern determinant module 144 may process a fusion andlinking of the data package that is indicative of the pattern ofmovement processed from the extracted stored data and the data packageprocessed from the extracted data captured in real time at block 402into a data package that is representative of the elongated pattern ofmovement associated with each of the one or more individuals wearing thedetected wearable device(s) 108.

The movement pattern determinant module 144 may link the aforementionedpatterns of movement associated with each of the one or more individualswearing the detected wearable device(s) to provide the elongated patternof movement to indicate a longer sequence of actions of theindividual(s) in order to provide the driver identification module 146with an increased propensity to identify the vehicle driver. In otherwords, the driver identification module 146 may be able to compare alarger subset of data that represents a longer sequence of actionsand/or gestures conducted/provided by the individual(s) over anelongated period of time to determine if the individual(s) areconducting actions that correspond with typical/learned driver movementsrepresented within the one or more driver movement patterns.

Upon linking the data packages into the data package that isrepresentative of the elongated pattern of movement, the movementpattern determinant module 144 may send the data package to the driveridentification module 146 in the form of one or more data signals to befurther evaluated by the module 146. The method 400 may again proceed toblock 406 wherein the method 400 may include comparing the pattern ofmovement with one or more driver movement patterns. It is to beappreciated that the movement pattern determinant module 144 may linkmore patterns of movement processed from extracted stored datarepresentative of actions/gestures of the individual(s) captured duringlonger periods of time as required until at least one vehicle driver isidentified at block 408.

As shown in FIG. 4B, an illustrative example of linking the patterns ofmovement based on block 414 of method 400, according to an exemplaryembodiment, the movement pattern determinant module 144 may link thepattern of movement indicative of extracted data captured from a priorpoint in time to with a pattern of movement captured at a real point intime t3. In particular, the pattern of movement indicative of the priorpoint in time to when the individual 424 conducted actions to input agarage door open input button 426 to open a garage door of a garage inwhich the vehicle 102 is parked may be linked with the pattern ofmovement indicative of a real point in time t3 when the individual opensa vehicle door 428 to develop the elongated pattern of movement that isrepresentative of all of the aforementioned actions of the individual.It is to be appreciated that the elongated pattern of movement may alsoinclude the movement of walking of the individual 424 and/or a gait ofthe individual 424 as he/she is walking towards the vehicle 102 duringthe periods of time t₁ and t₂.

Referring again to block 408 of the process flow diagram of FIG. 4A ofthe method 400, if it is determined that at least one vehicle driver isidentified, at block 416, the method 400 includes determining if morethan one vehicle driver is identified. In one or more embodiments, basedon the comparison between the pattern of movement associated with eachof the individual(s) wearing the detected wearable device(s) 108 and thedriver movement pattern(s), the driver identification module 146 maydetermine that there is a match between the movement points associatedwith the pattern(s) of movement of more than one individual wearing thedetected wearable device(s) 108 with the movement points programmedwithin the driver movement pattern(s). In other words, the driveridentification module 146 may determine that more than one individual isconducting actions and/or performing gestures that are indicative oftraditional and/or learned driver movements represented within thedefault driver movement pattern(s) and/or the learned driver movementpattern(s). For example, more than one individual may be performingactions indicative of opening a vehicle door and entering the vehicle102 at a same point in time that may be consistent with one of thedefault driver movement patterns.

If it is determined that more than one vehicle driver is identified (atblock 416), at block 418, the method includes utilizing one or moresecondary identification techniques to identify the vehicle driver.Exemplary embodiments of the secondary identification techniquesconducted by the driver identification module 146 will now be discussed.However, it is to be appreciated that various additional embodimentsutilizing the components of the environment 100 may be contemplated andused to perform the secondary identification techniques. It is alsoappreciated that the secondary identification techniques conducted bythe driver identification module 146 may be combined and/or modified.

In one embodiment, if more than one vehicle driver is identified, thedriver identification module 146 may send a signal to one or more of thehead unit 106 of the vehicle 102 to present a driver authentication userinterface that allows the driver of the vehicle 102 to input identifyinginformation pertaining to the vehicle owner or the approved driver ofthe vehicle 102 if the driver of the vehicle 102 is such. The driverauthentication user interface (not shown) may additionally allow thevehicle driver who is not classified as the vehicle owner or theapproved driver of the vehicle 102 to input a user interface inputbutton that may designate him/her as the undisclosed driver of thevehicle 102. Therefore, the driver identification module 146 mayidentify the vehicle driver based on the data inputted by the driver ofthe vehicle 102 via the authentication user interface.

In an alternate embodiment, if more than one vehicle driver isidentified, the driver identification module 146 may send a signal tothe plurality of vehicle sensors 120 to determine data from vehicle seatsensors, steering wheel sensors, and/or gear shift sensors. The driveridentification module 146 may compare the data in real time with a realtime pattern of movement associated with individuals identified asvehicle drivers to determine if one of the patterns of movement matchwith data provided from the plurality of vehicle sensors 120. Forexample, the driver identification module 146 may determine a pattern ofmovement of an individual who is conducting actions representative ofextending one of his/her hands to touch the steering wheel and/or thegear shifter that are consistent with sensor signals provided bysteering wheel sensors and/or gear shift sensors to thereby identifythat individual as the vehicle driver.

In an additional embodiment, if more than one vehicle driver isidentified, the driver identification module 146 may send a signal tothe plurality of vehicle sensors 120 to determine image data provided byone or more cameras located outside the driver's side vehicle doorand/or above a driver vehicle seat within the vehicle 102 indicative ofone or more real time images captured by the camera(s) of the pluralityof vehicle sensors 120 of the driver of the vehicle 102. Upon receivingthe image data, the driver identification module 146 may access one ormore of the storage units 114, 128, 140 to access stored images of thevehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) respectively from thevehicle ownership profile and/or the one or more approved driverprofiles stored on one or more of the storage units 114, 128, 140 duringthe setup/learning phase of the driver ID settings application 104, asdiscussed above.

Upon accessing the stored images, the driver identification module 146may utilize a camera logic to determine if there are matching featuresbetween the image data that is indicative of the real time imagescaptured by the camera(s) and the stored images of the vehicle owner andthe approved driver(s) to determine if the vehicle owner or one of theone or more approved drivers of the vehicle 102 may be identified as thevehicle driver. In some embodiments, if the driver identification module146 does not determine a match between the image data that is indicativeof the real time images and the stored images of the vehicle owner andthe approved driver(s), the driver identification module 146 mayidentify the vehicle driver as the undisclosed driver.

In yet an additional embodiment, the driver identification module 146may utilize the physical signal sensors 126 of the wearable device(s)108 worn by the individuals identified as the vehicle drivers and/or thelocation sensors 138 of the portable device(s) 110 linked to thewearable device(s) 108 (within the vehicle ownership profile and/or theapproved driver profile(s)) to determine the location of the individualsidentified as the vehicle driver. In some embodiments, the driveridentification may determine that the individual located at a specificlocation with respect to the vehicle 102 may be identified as thevehicle driver. For example, the driver identification module 146 maydetermine that an individual located near the driver side door of thevehicle 102 while conducting actions to open a vehicle door is to beidentified as the vehicle driver rather than another individual locatednear the passenger side door of the vehicle 102 who is conductingsimilar movements.

Referring again to block 416, if it is determined that more than onevehicle driver is not identified, at block 420, the method 400 includesclassifying the identified vehicle driver as the vehicle owner, theapproved driver, or the undisclosed driver. In an exemplary embodiment,upon identifying one of the one or more individuals wearing the detectedwearable device(s) 108 as the vehicle driver, the driver identificationmodule 146 may access one or more of the storage units 114, 128, 140 todetermine the device ID(s) of wearable devices 108 that were previouslypopulated within the vehicle ownership profile and/or the one or moreapproved driver profiles stored on one or more of the storage units 114,128, 140 during the setup/learning phase of the driver ID settingsapplication 104, as discussed above.

In one embodiment, upon retrieving the stored device ID(s), the driveridentification module 146 may compare the device ID(s) of the wearabledevice(s) 108 being worn by the individual identified as the vehicledriver with the device IDs that were previously populated within thevehicle ownership profile and/or the one or more approved driverprofiles. If the driver identification module 146 determines that thereis a match between the device ID(s) of the wearable device(s) 108 beingworn by the individual and the device ID(s) populated within the vehicleownership profile, the driver identification module 146 may classify theidentified vehicle driver as the vehicle owner.

Similarly, if the driver identification module 146 determines that thereis a match between the device ID(s) of the wearable device(s) 108 beingworn by the individual and the device ID(s) populated within one of theone or more approved driver profiles, the driver identification module146 may classify the identified vehicle driver as the specific approveddriver of the vehicle 102 in whose profile the device ID(s) werepopulated. However, if the driver identification module 146 determinesthat there is no match between the device ID(s) of the wearabledevice(s) 108 being worn by the individual and the device ID(s)populated within either of the vehicle ownership profile and/or the oneor more approved driver profiles, the driver identification module 146may classify the identified vehicle driver as the undisclosed driver.

In other embodiments, the vehicle settings execution module 148 mayclassify the identified vehicle driver as the vehicle owner, theapproved driver, or the undisclosed driver based on the identificationtechniques utilized to identify the vehicle driver, discussed above withrespect to block 418. In some embodiments, the vehicle settingsexecution module 148 may utilize the techniques discussed above withrespect to block 418 in conjunction with the embodiments discussed abovewith respect to block 420 to classify the identified vehicle driver.

At block 422, the method includes communicating the classification ofthe identified vehicle driver to the vehicle settings execution module148. In one or more embodiments, upon classifying the identified vehicledriver, the driver identification module 146 may send data representingthe identified vehicle driver, the classification of the identifiedvehicle driver, and the device ID(s) of the wearable device(s) 108 wornby the identified vehicle driver to the vehicle settings executionmodule 148 in the form of one or more data signals to be furtherevaluated by the module 148.

Referring again to FIG. 2, upon identifying the vehicle driver (at block208), at block 210, the method 200 includes controlling at least onevehicle system by executing vehicle settings associated with theidentified vehicle driver. Referring now to FIG. 5, a process flowdiagram of a method 500 for controlling at least one vehicle system fromthe operating environment of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment will nowbe discussed. FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the componentsof FIG. 1, though it is to be appreciated that the method 500 of FIG. 5may be used with other systems/components.

At block 502, the method 500 includes sending signal(s) to formallyconnect the wearable device(s) 108 worn by the identified vehicle driverto the vehicle 102. In an exemplary embodiment, upon receiving the oneor more data signals representing the identified vehicle driver, theclassification of the identified vehicle driver and the wearabledevice(s) 108 worn by the identified vehicle driver, the vehiclesettings execution module 148 may send one or more command signals tothe communication unit 116 to formally connect the wearable device(s)108 worn by the identified vehicle driver to the vehicle 102. Morespecifically, the vehicle settings execution module 148 may allow thewearable device(s) 108 worn by the identified vehicle driver to beformally connected via the DSRC, the Bluetooth™ connection, the Wi-Ficonnection, and the like. As discussed above, the vehicle settingsexecution module 148 may update the list of established formalconnections with the device ID(s) of the wearable device(s) 108 worn bythe identified vehicle driver.

In one or more embodiments, the vehicle settings execution module 148may also send one or more command signals to the communication unit 116of the vehicle 102 to disallow a formal connection(s) with the detectedwearable device(s) 108 that are worn by individual(s) that are notidentified as the vehicle driver. Therefore, detected wearable device(s)108 worn by individual(s) conducting actions and/or performing gesturesthat are within the vicinity of the vehicle 102 whose wearable devices108 were detected (at block 302 of FIG. 3), may not be automaticallyformally connected to the vehicle 102.

At block 504, the method includes determining if the identified vehicledriver is the vehicle owner or one of the approved drivers of thevehicle 102. As discussed above with respect to block 442 of the method400, the driver identification module 146 may communicate one or moredata signals that may represent the classification of the identifiedvehicle driver determined at block 440 of the method 400. In oneembodiment, the vehicle settings execution module 148 may evaluate thedata signals received from the driver identification module 146 and maydetermine if the classification of the identified vehicle driver is thevehicle owner or the approved driver of the vehicle 102.

If it is determined that the identified vehicle driver is the vehicleowner or one of the approved drivers of the vehicle 102 (at block 504),at block 506, the method 500 includes accessing the vehicle settingsprofile of the vehicle owner or the approved driver of the vehicle 102identified as the vehicle driver. As discussed above, during thesetup/learning phase of the driver ID settings application 104, thesetup user interface may allow the vehicle owner and/or the approveddriver(s) of the vehicle 102 to create/update a vehicle settings profilethat may be linked to the vehicle ownership profile associated with thevehicle owner or the approved driver profile associated with therespective approved driver.

In an exemplary embodiment, the driver identification module 146 maydetermine the vehicle owner or the specific approved driver of thevehicle 102 is the identified vehicle driver based on the evaluation ofthe one or more data signals that may represent the identified vehicledriver received from the driver identification module 146. If thevehicle owner is determined to be the identified vehicle driver at block504, the vehicle settings execution module 148 may access the vehiclesettings profile linked to the vehicle ownership profile and associatedwith the vehicle owner. On the other hand, if the specific approveddriver of the vehicle 102 is identified as the vehicle driver at block504, the vehicle settings execution module 148 may access the vehiclesettings profile linked to the approved driver profile and associatedwith the specific approved driver of the vehicle 102.

At block 508, the method 500 includes sending command signal(s) to theECU 112 of the vehicle 102 to operably control one or more of theplurality of vehicle systems 118 in accordance with the vehicle settingsprofile. In an exemplary embodiment, upon accessing the vehicle settingsprofile at block 506, the vehicle settings execution module 148 may sendone or more command signals to the ECU 112 of the vehicle 102 to controlone or more of the plurality of vehicle systems 118 in accordance withthe identified vehicle driver's preferences detailed within the vehiclesettings profile.

The ECU 112 may receive one or more command signals from the vehiclesettings execution module 148 to operably control one or more of theplurality of vehicle systems 118 in accordance with a vehicle settingsprofile. Consequently, one or more of the plurality of vehicle systems118 may adjust respective settings in accordance with the identifiedvehicle driver's preferences. In some cases, the adjustment of therespective settings may be completed by one or more of the plurality ofvehicle systems 118 before the identified vehicle driver enters thevehicle 102 and/or enables the engine of the vehicle 102 such that theidentified vehicle driver does not have to wait for the settings to beexecuted prior to entering the vehicle 102 and/or enabling the engine ofthe vehicle 102.

At block 510, the method 500 may include determining if portabledevice(s) 110 is linked to the wearable device(s) 108 worn by theidentified vehicle driver. As discussed above, during the setup/learningphase of the driver ID settings application 104, the vehicle ownerand/or the approved driver(s) of the vehicle 102 may link the portabledevice(s) 110 possessed by the vehicle owner or the approved driver(s)of the vehicle 102 to the wearable device(s) 108 worn by the vehicleowner or approved driver(s). In particular, the setup user interface mayallow the vehicle owner and/or the approved driver(s) of the vehicle 102to populate the device ID(s) of the portable device(s) 110 within thevehicle ownership profile or the approved driver profile(s).

In one embodiment, if the vehicle owner is determined to be theidentified vehicle driver at block 504, the vehicle settings executionmodule 148 may access the vehicle ownership profile and determine if thedevice ID(s) of the portable device(s) 110 is linked to the wearabledevice(s) 108 populated within the vehicle ownership profile todetermine that portable device(s) 110 is linked to the wearabledevice(s) 108 worn by the vehicle owner determined to be the identifiedvehicle driver. If one of the one or more approved drivers of thevehicle 102 is determined to be the identified vehicle driver, at block504, the vehicle settings execution module 148 may access the respectiveapproved driver profile and determine if the device ID(s) of theportable device(s) 110 is populated within the respective approveddriver profile to determine that the portable device(s) 110 is linked tothe wearable device(s) 108 worn by the specific approved driver of thevehicle 102 determined to be the identified vehicle driver.

At block 512, the method 500 includes sending signal(s) to formallyconnect the portable device(s) 110 linked to the wearable device(s) 108to the vehicle 102. In one embodiment, if the vehicle owner isdetermined to be the identified vehicle driver at block 504, the vehiclesettings execution module 148 may access the vehicle ownership profileand determine the device ID(s) of the portable device(s) 110 linked tothe wearable device(s) 108 worn by the vehicle owner. On the other hand,if the specific approved driver of the vehicle 102 is identified as thevehicle driver at block 504, the vehicle settings execution module 148may access the approved driver profile and determine the device ID(s) ofthe portable device(s) 110 linked to the wearable device(s) 108 worn bythe specific approved driver of the vehicle 102.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon determining the device ID(s) of theportable device(s) 110 linked to the wearable device(s) 108 worn by theidentified vehicle driver, the vehicle settings execution module 148 maysend one or more command signals to the communication unit 116 toformally connect the portable device(s) 110 linked to the wearabledevice(s) 108 and possessed by the identified vehicle driver to thevehicle 102. More specifically, the vehicle settings execution module148 may allow the portable device(s) 110 to be formally connected viathe DSRC, the Bluetooth™ connection, the Wi-Fi connection, and the like.As discussed above, the vehicle settings execution module 148 may updatethe list of established formal connections with the device ID(s) of theportable devices(s) 110 linked to the wearable device(s) 108 worn by theidentified vehicle driver.

Referring again to block 504, if it is determined that the identifiedvehicle driver is not the vehicle owner or one of the approved driversof the vehicle 102, the method 500 may proceed to block 514, wherein themethod 500 includes sending command signal(s) to the ECU 112 of thevehicle 102 to operably control one or more of the plurality of vehiclesystems in accordance with a default vehicle settings profile. In oneembodiment, if the vehicle settings execution module 148 determines thatthe identified vehicle driver is not the vehicle owner and/or one of theone or more approved drivers of the vehicle 102, the module 148 mayidentify the vehicle driver as the undisclosed driver and may send oneor more command signals to the ECU 112 of the vehicle 102 to control oneor more of the plurality of vehicle systems 118 to provide defaultsettings to the identified vehicle driver in accordance with the defaultvehicle settings profile.

The embodiments discussed herein may also be described and implementedin the context of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring computer-executable instructions. Non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media includes computer storage media andcommunication media. For example, flash memory drives, digital versatilediscs (DVDs), compact discs (CDs), floppy disks, and tape cassettes.Non-transitory computer-readable storage media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, modules or other data. Non-transitorycomputer readable storage media excludes transitory and propagated datasignals.

It will be appreciated that various implementations of theabove-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives orvarieties thereof, may be desirably combined into many other differentsystems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen orunanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvementstherein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which arealso intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method foridentifying a vehicle driver by a pattern of movement, comprising:receiving sensor signals from at least one wearable device; determiningthe pattern of movement based on data extracted from the sensor signals,wherein the extracted data represents physical movement and biosignalbiometric parameters that are fused into combined movement data, whereinthe combined movement data is converted into a data package that isindicative of the pattern of movement with respect to at least onemovement of the vehicle driver that pertains to the vehicle; evaluatingat least one data point that is extracted from the data package todetermine if it is consistent with at least one data point programmedwithin and extracted from at least one predetermined driver movementpattern; identifying the vehicle driver based on the at least one datapoint being consistent with the at least one predetermined drivermovement pattern; executing a vehicle settings profile associated withthe identified vehicle driver; and controlling at least one vehiclesystem of the vehicle, wherein the at least one vehicle system iscontrolled based on the execution of the vehicle settings profileassociated with the identified vehicle driver.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the sensor signalsreceived from the at least one wearable device includes at least onephysical movement sensor signal that includes data representative of atleast one movement or gesture that occurs outside of the vehicle that issensed during a period of time.
 3. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 2, wherein determining the pattern of movement includes processingdata from data extracted from the at least one physical movement sensorsignal.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the atleast one predetermined driver movement pattern includes at least oneof: a default driver movement pattern and a learned driver movementpattern, wherein the default driver movement pattern includespreprogrammed data that represents at least one movement that may beperformed by the vehicle driver outside of the vehicle, wherein thelearned driver movement pattern is based on at least one movement orgesture that occurs outside of the vehicle and is created by at leastone of: a vehicle owner, and at least one approved driver of thevehicle.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein theevaluating step to determine if it is consistent with at least onepredetermined driver movement pattern includes evaluating and comparingthe pattern of movement against the default driver movement pattern andthe learned driver movement pattern, wherein the default driver movementpattern and the learned driver movement pattern include at least one of:a movement, the sequence of actions, a gesture, and a sequence ofgestures traditionally conducted by a driver prior to entering thevehicle.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein theevaluating step to determine if it is consistent with at least onepredetermined driver movement pattern includes extracting at least onemovement point from the data package that includes data that isindicative of the pattern of movement and comparing the at least onemovement point extracted from the data package to at least one movementpoint extracted from the default driver movement pattern and the learneddriver movement pattern.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6,wherein the evaluating step to determine if it is consistent with atleast one predetermined driver movement pattern includes determiningthat there is a match between the at least one movement point extractedfrom the data package that includes the data that is indicative of thepattern of movement and the movement point extracted from the defaultdriver movement pattern and the learned driver movement pattern.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein identifying the vehicledriver includes determining if a device ID of the wearable device thatprovided at least one sensor signal associated with the pattern ofmovement that is consistent with the at least one predetermined drivermovement pattern is stored within a profile that is associated with atleast one of: the vehicle owner, and the at least one approved driver ofthe vehicle.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, whereincontrolling at least one vehicle system includes at least one of:accessing and executing settings from a vehicle settings profile linkedwith the profile that is associated with the vehicle owner when theidentified vehicle driver is determined to be the vehicle owner, andaccessing and executing settings from a vehicle settings profile linkedwith the profile that is associated with the at least one approveddriver of the vehicle when the identified vehicle driver is determinedto be the at least one approved driver of the vehicle.
 10. A system foridentifying a vehicle driver by a pattern of movement, comprising: amemory storing instructions when executed by a processor cause theprocessor to: receive sensor signals from at least one wearable device;determine the pattern of movement based on data extracted from thesensor signals, wherein the extracted data represents physical movementand biosignal biometric parameters that are fused into combined movementdata, wherein the combined movement data is converted into a datapackage that is indicative of the pattern of movement with respect to atleast one movement of the vehicle driver that pertains to the vehicle;evaluate at least one data point that is extracted from the data packageto determine if it is consistent with at least one data point programmedwithin and extracted from at least one predetermined driver movementpattern; identify the vehicle driver based on the at least one datapoint being consistent with the at least one predetermined drivermovement pattern; execute a vehicle settings profile associated with theidentified vehicle driver; and control at least one vehicle system ofthe vehicle, wherein the at least one vehicle system is controlled basedon the execution of the vehicle settings profile associated with theidentified vehicle driver.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein thesensor signals received from the at least one wearable device includesat least one physical movement sensor signal that includes datarepresentative of at least one movement or gesture that occurs outsideof the vehicle that is sensed during a period of time.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein determining the pattern of movement includesprocessing data from at least one of: data extracted from the at leastone physical movement sensor signal.
 13. The system of claim 10, whereinthe at least one predetermined driver movement pattern includes at leastone of: a default driver movement pattern and a learned driver movementpattern, wherein the default driver movement pattern includespreprogrammed data that represents at least one movement that may beperformed by the vehicle driver outside of the vehicle, wherein thelearned driver movement pattern is based on at least one movement orgesture that occurs outside of the vehicle and is created by at leastone of: a vehicle owner, and at least one approved driver of thevehicle.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the evaluating step todetermine if it is consistent with at least one predetermined drivermovement pattern includes evaluating and comparing the pattern ofmovement against the default driver movement pattern and the learneddriver movement pattern, wherein the default driver movement pattern andthe learned driver movement pattern include at least one of: a movement,the sequence of actions, a gesture, and a sequence of gesturestraditionally conducted by a driver prior to entering the vehicle. 15.The system of claim 14, wherein the evaluating step to determine if itis consistent with at least one predetermined driver movement patternincludes extracting at least one movement point from the data packagethat includes data that is indicative of the pattern of movement andcomparing the at least one movement point extracted from the datapackage to at least one movement point extracted from the default drivermovement pattern and the learned driver movement pattern.
 16. The systemof claim of claim 15, wherein the evaluating step to determine if it isconsistent with at least one driver movement pattern includesdetermining that there is a match between the at least one movementpoint extracted from the data package that includes the data that isindicative of the pattern of movement and the movement point extractedfrom the default driver movement pattern and the learned driver movementpattern.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein identifying the vehicledriver includes determining if a device ID of the wearable device thatprovided at least one sensor signal associated with the pattern ofmovement that is consistent with the at least one predetermined drivermovement pattern is stored within a profile that is associated with atleast one of: the vehicle owner, and the at least one approved driver ofthe vehicle.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein controlling at leastone vehicle system includes at least one of: accessing and executingsettings from a vehicle settings profile linked with the profile that isassociated with the vehicle owner when the identified vehicle driver isdetermined to be the vehicle owner, and accessing and executing settingsfrom a vehicle settings profile linked with the profile that isassociated with the at least one approved driver of the vehicle when theidentified vehicle driver is determined to be the at least one approveddriver of the vehicle.
 19. A non-transitory computer readable storagemedium storing instructions that when executed by a computer, whichincludes a processor perform a method, the method comprising: receivingsensor signals from at least one wearable device; determining a patternof movement based on data extracted from the sensor signals, wherein theextracted data represents physical movement and biosignal biometricparameters that are fused into combined movement data, wherein thecombined movement data is converted into a data package that isindicative of the pattern of movement with respect to at least onemovement of the vehicle driver that pertains to the vehicle; evaluatingat least one data point that is extracted from the data package todetermine if it is consistent with at least one data point programmedwithin and extracted from at least one predetermined driver movementpattern; identifying the vehicle driver based on the at least one datapoint being consistent with the at least one predetermined drivermovement pattern; executing a vehicle settings profile associated withthe identified vehicle driver; and controlling at least one vehiclesystem of the vehicle, wherein the at least one vehicle system iscontrolled based on the execution of the vehicle settings profileassociated with the identified vehicle driver.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the evaluatingstep to determine if it is consistent with at least one predetermineddriver movement pattern includes extracting at least one movement pointfrom a data package that includes data that is indicative of the patternof movement and evaluating the at least one movement point associatedwith the pattern of movement and comparing the at least one movementpoint extracted from the data package to at least one movement pointextracted from the at least one predetermined driver movement pattern.